Practice for Another Two and a Half Years...

Legion encampment, commander-in-chief's tent.

"I'm very sorry, Lord Rei." Kyosuke understood well the importance of lowering his stance.

Now that the clan head had begun suppressing him both openly and covertly, he had to find himself a patron.

Uchiha Rei was the most suitable choice.

The man who had publicly killed Tajma was the pledge of allegiance he had prepared.

Otherwise, that unlucky bastard's crimes had not warranted death. All that could be said was that he had failed to read the situation and jumped out to make a fuss. He deserved to die.

"Ha ha ha ha." Ignoring the fact that Kyosuke had killed someone in public, Uchiha Rei warmly took him by the hand and led him to a seat off to the side.

It was clear that the Legion Commander was very satisfied with this pledge of allegiance.

"My little hero, you've finally returned." Uchiha Rei tried hard to wink at him and said with a half-smile, "Didn't I tell you? This clan head is no broad-minded man."

Kyosuke nodded at that and answered humbly, "It was all thanks to your guidance, sir."

The two discussed the situation within the clan. After quite a while, the Legion Commander finally asked tentatively, "Would you like me to assign you some men?"

"No need." Kyosuke shook his head. "A forcibly picked melon is never sweet. I'll prove everything with facts."

"Good. Worthy of being a future pillar of our clan." Though Uchiha Rei appeared to be praising him, he could not help but laugh inwardly.

Still too immature. The Legion Commander sighed, but after thinking it over, he did not voice his objection.

In truth, he was also afraid Kyosuke would fail to handle the situation. If he caused some huge mess, Rei would still be the one left cleaning it up.

"Practice for another two and a half years first." Uchiha Rei thus reached a conclusion regarding Kyosuke's appointment.

In truth, with a single order from him, assembling a unit for Kyosuke would not have been difficult.

The fact that the boy could not even see that showed he still needed to grow further.

As for the so-called facts Kyosuke had mentioned, Rei was rather noncommittal. On the battlefield, individual strength was very limited.

Even someone at Clan Head Level could not face even the smallest Legion-level Ninjutsu head-on.

"How about this?" Given Kyosuke's special circumstances, Uchiha Rei granted him freedom of action. "Handle the missions as you see fit. Your own safety must come first. I don't want to lose you, understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

A boy with such talent would surely become a powerful helper once he matured.

Even if he had to support him for several years without getting anything in return, Uchiha Rei did not want Kyosuke risking his life on the front lines.

Unfortunately, his wish was destined to go unfulfilled.

Why had Kyosuke refused additional manpower? The reason was simple: he was afraid too many subordinates would steal his kills.

A larger team meant facing much more dangerous situations.

Not only would harvesting Points become more difficult, but he would also face the awkward possibility of having his kills stolen.

After all, not everyone could ignore the benefits brought by military merit.

Rather than worry about it later, it was better to fight as a three-man squad.

On one hand, this would lessen the impact of his reputation as a genius. On the other, he could lie low in secret and wait for the day he emerged from his cocoon as a butterfly.

Once he possessed sufficient strength, many matters would no longer be up to others.

After returning to the assigned camp area, Kyosuke did some simple tidying up before quickly heading to the war mission assignment station.

At present, the Three Clans, whose plan had failed, were not making many moves for the time being.

The situation was relatively stable, and conflicts remained limited in scale.

That was perfect for his purposes.

After presenting the Legion Commander's writ, Kyosuke ignored the mission acceptance rules and began browsing through the thick stack of war commissions.

Mission Name: Infiltrate the Yamanaka Clan Territory and investigate the enemy's strategic deployment. Difficulty: S-rank.

"Damn, isn't this just asking to die? No way, no way."

Mission Name: Kidnap Akimichi Megumi. Difficulty: S-rank.

"Akimichi Mitsunori's daughter? Isn't this still going deep behind enemy lines? This is ridiculous."

Mission Name: Ambush and kill a supply convoy. Difficulty: B-rank.

"Oh? This one seems pretty good."

Taking the mission sheet, Kyosuke carefully reviewed the details.

According to intelligence returned by spies, the Three Clans were still continuously relocating their people.

Having suffered a setback once, they had put excellent secrecy measures in place this time. There was simply no way to determine the exact relocation routes.

Left with no alternative, the Legion could only focus on supplies.

No matter where the clan members were sent, they still needed food and necessities to live. Perhaps they could discover something from the transport routes of the supplies.

"Ninjas transporting supplies will definitely use scroll seals for ease of travel."

"That means the convoy won't be too large. It should mainly consist of elite escort personnel."

Jonin were important strategic assets and could not possibly be assigned to simple escort missions.

If anything went wrong, no amount of supplies could make up for the loss.

That meant the obstacles Kyosuke and the others faced would most likely be Chunin-level guards from the Three Clans.

It happened to fit his hunting requirements perfectly.

Points: 4124.

Up to this point, Kyosuke had invested enough in taijutsu.

Sharingan + Body Flicker Technique + Uchiha Style Kenjutsu were enough to handle the vast majority of Chunin.

Next, he needed to gradually shift his focus and set his sights on higher-level enemies.

During this period, he would begin saving Points to exchange for high-level ninjutsu capable of forcefully killing Jonin.

The appearance of the Shisui-style Body Flicker Technique had caused many people to pin the title of ninjutsu genius on him as well.

In reality, Kyosuke did not understand such techniques at all.

Even if he remembered certain Hand Seal sequences, without understanding the corresponding Chakra circulation routes, he could not reproduce the ninjutsu.

For now, his only option was to use Points for exchanges.

When he had free time in the future, he might exchange for some ninjutsu knowledge. For now, he needed to devote all his energy to combat.

Putting away the mission sheet, Kyosuke turned and returned to the camp area, informing his two resting subordinates of the news.

"Get ready. We leave in ten minutes." Then he headed to the supply area, intending to use his status as Squad Leader to acquire some useful items.

Inside the tent, the two subordinates exchanged glances, each having different thoughts.

Uchiha Izumi: Lord Kyosuke truly deserves to be a future pillar of the clan. This bearing is well worth learning from.

Uchiha Maya: Doesn't he ever need to rest? No wonder the Young Clan Head thinks so highly of him.

At first, the two had held slight grievances about Uchiha Madara's orders.

They believed that, with their abilities, they should have remained on the main battlefield and fought.

After spending some time with him, especially after witnessing him kill someone in the camp to establish his authority, they gradually came to understand that the boy before them was a true genius whose caliber did not lose out to the Young Clan Head's.

By following him, perhaps they could carve out a bright future for themselves.

Ten minutes later, the three regrouped at the camp entrance.

After evenly distributing the Ninja Tools and supplies he had acquired, the squad set off in advance for the route the supply convoy was bound to take.